Media giant, Condé Nast, announced Wednesday that it has decided to discontinue its internship program, starting in 2014. The Condé Nast family attracts many college girls who are interested in the fashion and publishing industry, as it maintains the glossy pages of Vogue, W Magazine, and Glamour, just to name a few. This decision comes after the publisher was sued this summer by two former interns, who claimed they were paid below minimum wage during their internships at W and The New Yorker. Condé Nast is just one of several companies facing similar lawsuits from former interns.
*Image from StyleElite.com
In February 2012 a former intern at Harper’s Bazaar sued, claiming the magazine violated minimum wage and overtime laws. This lawsuit initiated a trend and since then numerous interns have filed similar cases. Other cases involve interns who work for Hearst, Fox Searchlight, and DKNY, all for similar reasons. Many cases are still pending but several have been successful.
This recent announcement from Condé Nast has sparked a lot of discussion on social media sites about internship programs and Generation Y. Many commentators are outraged and believe these people who are suing have ruined it for the people who would be willing to work for free and sacrifice their own resources, just to get a chance to get their foot in the door in this competitive industry. Hundreds of perspective fashionistas and journalists will now be denied a necessary launching pad. A recent New York Times article quoted Dylan Byers, from Politico, who claims that “going into an internship knowing it paid little or nothing and then complaining about it, and suing, seems disingenuous.”
One commenter on the Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) Facebook page remarked, “this generation is so entitled, it’s incredibly disappointing.” As collegiettes in “this generation,” we must reflect upon the the public perception of people our age. There is a common notion about the millennial age, with many people thinking that we get what we want, when we want it, and for an easy price. Some people, like this commenter, believe that many of us grew up relying on the success of our parents, reaping the benefits of their hard work.
*Image from University Times
In today’s overly-competitive job market, especially for the fashion industry, you need to have a padded resume with tons of work experience. Now, following this media giant’s decision, we may find that other companies will take another look at their internship programs and follow in Condé’s footsteps, cutting or limiting them drastically. This could be especially true for small companies that cannot afford to increase payroll.
Keeping all this in mind, we must reflect upon ourselves in “this generation” and how it will affect collegiettes to come. I have had the opportunity to tuck a couple of internships in New York under my belt, one unpaid and another with a stipend. I believe that interns just have to be smart about their experience. Many internships are unpaid and offer college credit, since they are supposed to be a learning experience for people pursuing a particular career path. Most employers will tell you whether there will be compensation, and how much it will be. If it is not in the description then it is possible to just ask. The experience and networking opportunities you gain from internships are invaluable and allow you to test different career paths. And many girls get to walk through the coveted glass doors of Vogue. That’s priceless.
Yes, I had to trek through the boroughs with packages on the metro and stay till 10 p.m. sometimes, but I got to work on some incredible campaigns and add experience as well as references to my resume.
*Image from TheDailyBeast.com
Before diving into an internship, make sure you research the company and, if you can, find previous interns and ask about their experience. Know that internships require grunt and administrative work. You are at the bottom of the food chain and should expect to run errands and make lousy coffee. Magazine publishing internships, especially at the top places like Condé and Hearst, have reputations for making their interns work long hours and schlep garment bags around the city. Don’t expect to get a gold star after every assignment or meet Anna Wintour anytime soon. Some of these unpaid internships do seem exploitive and grueling, but it is not forced labor. If you don’t like it or feel the internship isn’t up to your standards, you can leave at any time. And remember, you chose this path. Clear and effective communication between yourself and your boss is key and you should speak up if you feel something is unfair or you can’t work overtime.
So, in your opinion collegiettes, are unpaid internships exploitive or just a right of passage by “paying your dues” to get to your dream career? Should all companies be required to pay their interns? Is our generation “too entitled and lazy” to work so hard for so little? How will this affect so many that are willing to work unpaid in order to get the experience? Sound off below!